sinovels Chapter 294 Coach, I Want to Play Volleyball
Chapter 294 Coach, I Want to Play Volleyball
Chapter 294 Coach, I Want to Play Volleyball
The nationwide educational debate sparked by "Dragon Zakura" continues to ferment on talk shows on major television stations, while another bombshell prepared by Kitahara Productions—"Haikyuu!!"—has finally landed in the weekend prime time slot as scheduled.
Sports drama series have always been a double-edged sword in the Asian film and television industry, loved and hated by many.
It has a unique advantage: it comes with a large base of die-hard sports fans who love the sport. However, it's also the genre most prone to backfiring and receiving the most criticism. Because for true sports fans, what they really care about, rather than the dramatic love triangles and melodramatic love entanglements in the show, is whether the show actually understands the sport.
In the context of 1997, the market was flooded with idol dramas disguised as "sports competitions." These so-called popular young actors, sporting impeccably styled hair with half a pound of hair gel that wouldn't get messed up no matter how much they ran, would strike a few poses on the field, thinking they were experts, but they couldn't even grasp the most basic serving gestures or the offside rule. The plots were filled with absurd actions that defied the laws of physics and were impossible in real matches. These kinds of shows, which were essentially selling dog meat under the guise of sports, were often harshly criticized by genuine sports fans in private.
Therefore, before "Haikyuu!!" aired, countless hardcore volleyball fans across Japan were actually carrying small stools...
Holding a magnifying glass, ready with a bellyful of sarcastic remarks, I sat in front of the TV, prepared to nitpick and hurl insults.
The gymnasium at Itabashi High School in Tokyo is perpetually filled with the lingering smell of sweat and floor wax.
Kuroda, the third-year volleyball team captain, sat cross-legged on the slightly warped wooden floor, looking at the thin sheet of paper in his hand.
The club funding application was rejected by the student council, and he was so worried that he gripped his hair tightly with both hands.
This is a true reflection of the current state of high school volleyball clubs in Japan. High school students across Japan are either wildly obsessed with soccer because the national team is aiming for the World Cup in France, or they're flocking to play basketball because of a certain nationally popular basketball manga that just ended.
In contrast, volleyball, a sport played through a net and without direct physical contact, seems old-fashioned and boring to young people, and it doesn't attract anyone at all.
Kuroda's volleyball club is currently facing a huge crisis, with the possibility of being forcibly disbanded by the school at any time.
The entire club, including him as the team leader, consisted of a pitiful six people, not even enough for a decent six-on-six intra-team match. The funding allocated to them by the school was meager; the volleyballs they used for training were worn thin and frayed, burning painfully against their arms, but they couldn't bear to replace them. When the net was damaged, they would mend it themselves with rope.
At the spring club recruitment fair just a few days ago, the booths of the basketball and soccer clubs were packed with people, and application forms were piled up like small mountains. But the volleyball club's booth was deserted. Kuroda and a few other members stood in the cold wind all day, shouting themselves hoarse, only to be met with indifferent or even disdainful looks from the freshmen passing by. They didn't receive a single application.
"Minister, stop looking. Those student council guys won't approve any funding for our doomed club." A first-year member next to me complained while mopping the floor with a worn-out mop. "By the way, I heard Fuji TV is airing a volleyball drama this weekend, something like 'Haikyuu!!' I saw the poster, and it's full of those super hot, fair-skinned male idols."
Hearing this, another member who was juggling the ball sneered: "It's probably one of those lousy dramas where guys with slicked-back hair fall in love on the court. Why add special effects to volleyball? When it airs, our volleyball team will probably be ridiculed by laymen again. These evil capitalists only know how to make money off the sport we love."
Kuroda sighed, crumpled the discarded funding application form into a ball, and slammed it into the trash can. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Everyone, go to the sports BBS forums and keep an eye on it when it airs this weekend! If the show dares to include any illogical or absurd actions, if they dare to insult volleyball, we'll unite all the volleyball clubs in Japan and post a petition to boycott this show!"
It was 8 p.m. on a weekend evening when Kuroda sat in his cramped rented room. A can of cheap beer sat on the low table in front of him, and a heavy laptop sat on his lap, its screen displaying what was then Japan's largest sports BBS forum.
The volleyball section of the forum has long been filled with hardcore volleyball fans, just like Kuroda, ready to nitpick with a magnifying glass.
"I heard the lead actors are Takeru Satoh and Satoshi Tsumabuki from Kitahara Office? They're quite handsome, but with those skinny arms and legs, what kind of powerful spikes can they possibly throw?"
"I bet there are slow-motion close-up shots of them being suspended by wires!"
"Everyone, get your keyboards ready! Ten minutes! If any of those gravity-defying, absurd scenes appear within ten minutes, we're going to charge!"
Amidst this atmosphere of extreme criticism and hostility from sports fans across the internet, who were eager to see the show become a joke, the first episode of "Haikyuu!!" officially premiered.
However, just five minutes into the game, Kuroda abruptly stopped drinking the beer he had just brought to his lips.
On the TV screen, there were no soft-focus filters like those commonly used in Japanese dramas, no slow-motion effects, and even the deliberately sentimental background music was kept to a minimum.
Accompanied by the ear-piercing "squeak" of the rubber soles of the sneakers rubbing violently against the wooden floor, the camera cuts directly into an extremely tight and breathless back-and-forth battle without any hesitation.
On the screen, an opposing player leaps high and delivers a powerful jump serve. The volleyball, like a cannonball, crashes through the net with a muffled whistling sound.
In the back row, the young actor playing the libero showed no affectation or hesitation in his eyes. With his knees slightly bent and his center of gravity extremely low, he lunged forward like a cheetah the instant he judged the ball's trajectory!
"Bang!"
With a dull thud that made one wince, he executed a textbook, flawless diving save on the hard floor! He precisely deflected the volleyball, sending it to the setter's position. The player then smoothly rolled over on the floor to regain his footing.
Captured in close-up by Hollywood's latest high-speed cameras, Kuroda could even clearly see a large, realistic red swelling instantly appear on the actor's forearm as he wiped the floor. His forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat, which dripped down his face, a mixture of pain and excitement, and onto the floor.
"This—this is a real fall?!" Kuroda's pupils contracted sharply, and he couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
As an expert who had played volleyball for six years, he knew all too well the significance of that diving save. It was something that couldn't be faked by a stunt double or with fancy moves; it required hundreds or even thousands of hard falls on wooden floors, leaving him bruised and battered, to develop that kind of seamless muscle memory!
Then came a tactical maneuver that sent chills down his spine and made him tremble all over.
Yosuke Kuboe, playing a genius setter, executes an incredibly realistic back pass feint at the net. His eyes...
The wrist flick was flawless, successfully deceiving the two opposing blockers and causing them to lunge in the wrong direction.
Behind him, Satoshi Tsumabuki and Takeru Satoh, one after the other, leaped up simultaneously like two bolts of lightning, their steps incredibly precise!
"Multiple positions, cross-cover attack?!" Kuroda's beer can fell onto the carpet with a "thud," spilling the cold beer all over the floor, but he was completely unaware, even his breath caught in his throat.
He stared intently at the screen. Sato Takeru, like a fully drawn bow, used the opening created by Tsumabuki Satoshi to unleash a powerful, explosive pull in his back muscles. Then, his arm, like a wildly whipping whip, slammed the volleyball into the opposite half of the court!
The extreme feeling of being suspended in mid-air, the unrestrained release of power, and the crisp, explosive sound of the volleyball being hit hard—all of these sent shivers down Kuroda's spine!
There was no magic, no romance. Only pure tactics, sweat, heavy breathing, and the indomitable spirit of rising again after falling. That hardcore, visceral competitive feel was like a heavy hammer blow, shattering the prejudices of Kuroda and all the sports fans watching on television.
Kuroda's hands trembled as he placed them on the keyboard, silently deleting the entire draft of over a thousand words he had prepared to unleash a torrent of abuse. He took a deep breath, his eyes welling up with tears, and then typed a line of bold text in the forum: "Everyone stand up!!! This isn't some idol drama at all, it's a professional volleyball instructional documentary disguised as a TV series!! Kitahara Studio is awesome!! All the actors' movements in it are definitely the result of hellish training! They're really playing volleyball!"
After a brief silence, the entire BBS forum erupted into a frenzy of messages. Countless sports fans who were initially prepared to nitpick suddenly began to apologize profusely.
"I take back what I said earlier. That jump serve was too perfect. It's definitely not something an amateur could do."
"That diving save made my arm hurt; these actors really went all out!"
"The tactical coordination was flawless, with absolutely no ridiculous moments—this is the kind of sports drama I want to watch!"
The reversal of public opinion online was just the beginning of this storm. What truly ignited this craze was the comprehensive response from both the professional sports community and the general public.
The editor-in-chief of Monthly Volleyball, Japan's most authoritative volleyball magazine, is a rigid old man who once played for the national team and has always abhorred the entertainment industry's involvement with sports topics. After reading the first episode, he was so excited that he got up overnight, stopped the printing press, and forcibly revised the magazine's layout, which had already been finalized.
The following day, Monthly Haikyuu!! directly used a still from Haikyuu!! showing Satoshi Tsumabuki and Takeru Satoh covered in sweat, hugging each other to celebrate a point as the cover of that issue, along with a passionate and in-depth four-page editorial:
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"Before watching this drama, I always despised those generic idol dramas in the film and television industry. But Kitahara's studio taught me a lesson. What we see on the screen isn't pretentious celebrities, but real athletes bleeding and sweating! Look at their techniques for hitting the ball out of bounds, look at their strict adherence to the rotation rules! This drama not only perfectly showcases the tactical charm of volleyball, but also conveys to young people all over Japan what true sportsmanship is—volleyball is a sport that always looks upward!"
Commentators on major sports channels also lavished praise on the show during their morning news broadcasts: "This is the benchmark for sports dramas!"
It doesn't treat the audience like fools; the logic of each match is flawless. This level of professionalism is unparalleled in Asia; apart from the deep-pocketed and extremely meticulous Kitahara Productions, no other company could produce something like this!
As the series became a hit, viewers increasingly felt the terrifying dominance of the "Kitahara Productions" brand.
People discovered that Kitahara Studio not only spared no expense in costumes, props, and filming techniques, bringing in Hollywood high-speed cameras to create a visual impact, but what was even more frightening was their strict management and training system for their artists.
In an era rife with entertainment gossip and idols constantly embroiled in scandals, the young actors at Kitahara Productions were as clean as blank sheets of paper. In this production, you would never see any actors throwing tantrums or rewriting scripts. Actors like Takeru Satoh, Satoshi Tsumabuki, and Yosuke Kuboe, despite their growing fame, remained free of any messy scandals or negative press.
Just like real sports school students, they locked themselves in the training hall to hone their skills, obeyed the arrangements of the director and professional coaches, and used their bruises and real sweat to achieve a flawless performance in front of the camera.
This corporate culture, which avoids gimmicks and relies solely on professional competence and high-quality works, has fostered a strong brand loyalty among countless viewers. Many have even developed a habit: if a TV drama's opening credits display the "Kitahara Production" label, they know without hesitation that it's a logically sound and meticulously produced masterpiece. They understand that Kitahara Shin's company will never deceive its audience.
The real-world impact of "Haikyuu!!" has exceeded everyone's expectations.
On Monday morning, as usual, Kuroda sighed and pushed open the gym door, preparing to start the tedious ball-passing practice with his only five members.
He was completely stunned and stood there.
The once empty entrance to the gymnasium was now packed with people. Dozens of first- and second-year boys, and even quite a few girls, were all clutching their club membership applications tightly, their eyes gleaming with a burning passion.
"Kuroda-senpai! Please let me join the volleyball club! I want to learn that super cool back-row attack from those TV players!"
"Senior, although I'm short, I have quick reflexes. Please let me try playing the libero position! I'm absolutely not afraid of falling!"
"Minister, this is my application to join the ministry. Please help!"
Kuroda stared blankly at the applications being frantically shoved in front of him, listening to the energetic voices, and his eyes suddenly welled up with tears. He never dreamed that in his final year of high school, the volleyball team, which had always been considered an unpopular sport, would one day be overwhelmed with freshmen.
But the most outrageous things are yet to come.
The first class had just ended when the school's dean of students, who usually wouldn't even glance at the volleyball club, surprisingly came to the classroom door and found Kuroda, handing him a thick envelope with a big smile.
"Kuroda-kun, given the students' current enthusiasm for volleyball, the school board held an emergency meeting this morning and decided to triple the volleyball club's activity budget for this semester! Get rid of those old volleyballs in your storeroom and replace them all with top-of-the-line competition balls. Don't let the kids suffer!"
Kuroda's hands trembled as he clutched the heavy envelope, the line from "Haikyuu!!" echoing in his mind.
He suddenly realized just how much power Kitahara Shin and his Kitahara Agency possessed to easily alter reality.
It has a terrifying power that can even overturn the fate of a sport.
Within just a few weeks of the airing of "Haikyuu!!", this volleyball craze sparked by the TV series swept across Japan like a hurricane. Sports equipment stores across the country sold out of the same volleyballs and knee pads.
The name Kitahara Shin not only caused an earthquake in the education sector in "Dragon Zakura," but also truly became an unshakable cultural belief within the drama. From the precise planning of the script to the lavish budget for filming, and the clean and pure artist matrix under his command, a vast and invincible entertainment empire has been completely formed.